HUGHTON ON: LEEDS

At his pre-match press conference, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton delivered the team news ahead of Saturday’s game against Leeds United, highlighted the vibrant atmosphere created at Elland Road, spoke about the pressures involved throughout the Sky Bet Championship, and discussed Bruno’s recent contract extension.

Team news: “Bruno is fine. Seb [Pocognoli] will miss out, but we expect him to be fit for the Blackburn game after the international break.

“Gaetan [Bong] is still out and on his rehab. We’re hoping to push him into training next week, but whether that will also see him available for the Blackburn game, we’ll see.

“With Vegard [Forren], it’s just about getting him up to speed. We’ll look to see if we can get him into an under-23 game as quickly as possible.

“He does have a certain amount of training under his belt. At this moment, he’s probably not where we’d ideally like him to be, but we knew that before he came here.”

Elland Road visit: “We’ve done our normal analysis of the way that they play and the form that they’re in. We’re up against a very good side that have had a very good season.

“They have a way of playing that’s been very good on the eye, and they have some very good individuals. Those are the things we have to be guarded against, instead of just one particular aspect of their game.

“It’s always a difficult place [Elland Road] and they create a magnificent atmosphere there. That’s something that we’ll have to be aware of and will have to cope with.

“But it’s an away game and generally they’re tougher. We’ve certainly been better on the road this season than what we were last season, and we’ll need to be, because it’s a very tough game.”

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Championship pressure: “The pressure comes with the game. Whatever position you are in this division, you’re going to be under pressure, whether it’s about getting into that top six or trying to avoid relegation. Although I’d certainly rather be at this end of the table with the pressures that are involved.

“But you’ve got to enjoy that and look forward to it. Every player in the squad would rather have the pressure of being where we are at this moment.

“We’re thinking about doing our very best in these forthcoming games. If we do well enough in these games, then it gives us a great opportunity to get promotion.”

Player contracts: “They’re the processes that go on week-in week-out here, and they’re processes that we’re very much attending to.

“Certainly with Bruno, he’s an individual that almost hasn’t missed a game for two seasons. It wasn’t a difficult one.

“He’s our captain and his level of performance hasn’t dropped during that period of time. He’s a great example to the squad and particularly to the young players that we have.

“In regards to any other contracts, it’s always something that we’re very much dealing with behind the scenes.”